I started up the car and drove straight to Chelsea’s. Penelope would be happy to see me, and I him. I needed some comfort.

“Yo,” Chelsea said as she opened the door. “Come on in.”

I stepped into her colorful apartment. “Where’s Pen?”

“Probably somewhere around here, peeing on something. He’s a revenge pisser,” she said as she clicked her tongue. “Pen, Papa’s here!” She turned to me, looking me up and down. “You smell like sweat and cigarettes. Where the hell have you been?”

“Out,” I mumbled.

“Where out?”

I frowned. “Don’t ask.”

Chelsea groaned. “You went to go see Enzo again, didn’t you?” She followed me as I walked through her place in search of Penelope. “Tex, if you keep popping up at Blu, it sends the wrong message. How can either of you move on like that?”

I clenched my jaw so hard it hurt. She wasn’t wrong, but I didn’t want to hear it either. A flash of orange shot past me, and I went after Penelope. I scooped him up into my arms.

“Hey, baby,” I cooed. “Why are you running away?”

Penelope yowled and shoved away from me. I put him down. As soon as he was on his feet, he ran away, disappearing into Chelsea’s bedroom. I stared after him as my face fell. If I was depressed before, it was worse now.

“That cat holds a grudge,” Chels muttered. “Just like his Papa.”

“I do not.” I sighed, wanting to chase Penelope down but knowing that wasn’t the answer. “Got any food?”

“Shower first,” she directed. “I can’t take another three breaths full of you right now.”

I lifted my shirt and sniffed. “Fair enough.”

My shower was quick, mostly because whenever I spent time alone, I thought about Enzo. I quickly stepped out, drying my hair still as I walked back into the kitchen. Chelsea popped two plates on the table, teeming with overstuffed tacos.

“Where have you been staying?” she asked once we both sat down.

I bit into a taco and shrugged. “Around,” I said. “Couch surfing mostly. If I stay in any one place too long…”

“Enzo will find you.”

“Exactly,” I said, trying not to show how I jolted when she said his name so casually. “So far, so good.”

“You can’t keep living like this.” She frowned. “It can’t be healthy for you.”

I shrugged again. “The case is progressing. Sooner or later, he’ll be behind bars, and I can live my life again.”

“Even when he’s locked up, you think this is going to stop? Tex, he’s the kind of man who won’t live this down. Once you send him away, he might kill you. Guys like him don’t care.”

“He’s not that bad.” The words slipped free before I could stop myself. Why am I defending him? I cleared my throat. “He wouldn’t kill me.”

“No?” She raised a brow. “Are you sure?”

I opened my mouth. Images of Enzo fucking me for dear life in his guest room came back to me. That look on his face had held something dangerous, something… powerful. As much as the crazy in him turned me on, I was now on the outside looking in. If that insanity was trained on me, Chelsea was right; no matter how much I didn’t want to admit it, I could end up dead.